Are Videogames Harmful?

“Are video games harmful?” It’s a question that still goes through minds today, and is a controversial subject. It’s too broad to be answered, as video games have both their helpful and destructive natures.

In April of 2000, American Psychological Association’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology featured two topics on this. They both stated that aggressive video games, such as side-scrolling fighters or first-person shooters, often increased a persons aggressive feelings in both laboratory testing and in real life. While the same could possibly be said about violent movies or television shows, they also went on to state that due to the interactiveness of video games that they could be more harmful.

Why is this? People feel that it is due, in part, to players having a built-in connection with the subjects in the game. When you hit the downward, ninety-degree rotation from the right analog stick and hit “A”, it is almost as if you are the one who uppercuts the foe upwards through the roof. Is this really true, though?

Video games can be just as addictive as many drugs found on the streets today, but are safer by a long shot. When children who have become addicted to these games are pried away by their mothers, and as a result become violent, is it really the video games fault? The argument is a moot point, at best, as those supporting video games will say no, while those who support parents will say yes. However, it is best to look at it from another angle.

Does a child who is pried away from a violent video game show more signs of aggression than a child who is pried away from a non-violent video game? Now the subject becomes tricky. It’s not whether or not the drug is bad for you, it’s which drug is worse?

To start, the child must truly be addicted. To keep psychological reasons the same, the same child must be used. Since I don’t have access to a lab, nor any children to experiment on, I’m going to use my younger self as an example. I have always been a video game addict, but what I have been addicted to has changed over time.

When I was in grade school, Mortal Kombat III was the coolest thing on the block. I owned it, and everyone else wanted to. Popularity shot up as it was multi player and I could invite my friends over. Joyous day…but my parents were at a point where they would not allow me to play video games for hours on end.